Night Beauty
by Ariolus
Summary: Lyla Soring was not your average girl. But then again, neither was Michael Abel. Let’s just say they were…special. Each one with their own unique gift to be used for the right or for the wrong. Both had many choices. And with choices, come consequences.
1. Chapter 1

_Lyla Soring was not your average girl. But then again, neither was Michael Abel. Let's just say they were…special. Each one with their own unique gift to be used for the right or for the wrong. And both had the choice. Yes, they both had many choices. And with choices, come consequences._

Lyla squinted in the bright sunlight. Yes, today would be very…eventful. Shining suns never were a good sign for her. She preferred the dark of the night, where she could move _undetected_; sliding in and out of reality.

Suddenly she snapped out of her daydream when she heard the bell ring for school. She jolted on—luckily her class was the first one on the right. She slipped into the classroom undetected and sat down in her seat near the back. At least the window shouldn't allow any sunlight in her little corner.

After she survived first period, she headed on to her next class, and then the next. Not too much going on. But then again, the sun wasn't up yet.

Finally, the bell rang for lunch. She walked into the cafeteria. Immediately she sensed something was wrong. Then she noticed her usual corner was not empty, as it was every day. There was someone sitting there. It was boy—her age. He must be new. She walked over to him.

As she strode up to the table, he didn't spare her as much as a glance. "You must be new," she said, not making an attempt to be friendly. Her voice, although rarely used, was as smooth—and cold—as ice.

He didn't seem to respond in any way. But she seemed to catch a faint bob of his head.

"Well, that's my seat. Well—this is my _table_ actually. I sit here every day, and I'd prefer to sit alone, so move along. Go find someone else to mess with.

Still no reaction. This kid was starting to get on her nerves. She cranked up her voice a notch. "I said, leave. You aren't wanted." The end of her words curled into a snarl.

He didn't seem to notice. He kept his head bent down, allowing his shaggy blonde hair to droop over his eyes. She started to raise a hand when he abruptly stood up, and walked right out the door. That was more like it. There was still something unnerving about him, though.

She sat down and stared at the wall in front of her. It was painted Gold and Green, for the school's mascot, the turtle. Might as well be, this place was so boring. No action ever happened here. Drama, perhaps, but not the action she usually went through every night.

The thought of the boy sprang right to the front of her mind. He was the most interesting thing here. Everyone here mostly just avoided her. She wasn't exactly average. And so she preferred to stake it out alone, not risking anything.

Suddenly a gasp interrupted her thoughts. _Great, already? I didn't think the sun would be in that position yet._

She looked down at her hand. It was a beautiful hand—except for the fact that the edges were slightly blurry. The sun shined on it, and it began to fade even more. She had to get in the shadows, away from the sunlight. It was funny, every time the sun shone, people just couldn't resist gasping and staring. At least she didn't completely disappear. She just looked…distant. Like you couldn't quite focus on her.

She hurried into the hallway and then stood outside the door for her next class period. The bell rang ending lunch, and she crowded inside the classroom with the rest of the students. She sat in the back again, away from the window. She didn't want to have the teacher gaping.

She went through the same thing with her next three periods. After what seemed like forever, the final bell rang.

She briskly walked to the front door, hesitating at the bright sunlight, and then stepped out. Quickly, she stepped behind a tree into the shade. Then she lay down and waited. When she was sure no one was looking, she faded into the ground, invisible to everyone else, and made her way home.

She quickly drifted across the ground as a shadow, passing through as many shadows as possible.

As soon as she got to her house, she slipped into her room. There, her shadow seemed to twirl off the ground, like in a tornado, and it grew until it was 5"5. Then it filled out her form. She began to regain her color, and then she walked out the door, looking just like when she walked out the school doors.

Later that night, Lyla told her mom bye and slipped out the door.

Her mom was one of the only people who knew about Lyla's secret. It was sort of their thing. Her father had disappeared mysteriously one day when she was little, and she was an only child, so there wasn't really anyone else to hide it from at her house.

She melted into a shadow and zipped across the streets of Idaho, headed for downtown. She was under the full protection of the night now, and she had complete freedom. She was speeding towards the safe house when she caught a glimpse of someone in an alley.

It was that boy again! She stopped, but when she looked again, he was gone; disappeared into thin air. She knew there was something about him, but she didn't have time to stop now. She continued her journey until she came to where she was looking for. It wasn't much, but at the same time it was everything.

It was the safe house. To an average eye, it looked like a normal house; maybe one that your grandma would be living in. It was white, one story, and had an old roof. The number on the front was 1764. The sidewalk was cracked with a small brick porch. The grass was well kept, and there was a driveway on the side of the house that led into a small garage in the backyard. The backyard had a little path made out of the same bricks which led to a gate. The gate opened into a garden. There was a long arch with vines all over. It led to a little patio with a big tree in the middle. All around the patio was grass. There was a little garden full of vegetables and some trees. There was also a patch of clovers.

On the inside, it was decorated much the same. The owner, an old woman, had a collection of porcelain dolls. In was very cozy looking.

Madeleine Course was Lyla's great aunt. Lyla just called her Gram, though, because her own grandma, Violet, had passed away a few years back. Her husband, Gerald, got in a car accident that he didn't walk away from. The next year, Violet died from an aching heart. Ever since, then, Gram had sort of taken that role of grandma that spoiled her rotten.

Gram was over 80 years old, and still single. But she never gave in to her health. She still had her job as a secretary for the bank, as she had kept it for the past few decades.

Of course, Lyla had to tell Gram her secret. Gram took it quite seriously, as she did most things, and then offered all the help she could possibly give. She had built this safe house so she could live closer to Lyla and her mom and for another purpose.

Lyla walked into the master bedroom and walked over to the cream and maroon striped walls and reached out for a doorknob that stuck out. There was the slightest seam along two of the stripes going straight from the top to the bottom of the wall, making it nearly impossible to distinguish.

She twisted the doorknob to reveal stainless steel elevator doors. Lyla pressed a code—8821—into the security pad next to it and the door opened.

Once she entered it, she pressed the button marked 'L' with her thumb and held it down. A bar of light scanned her thumb, confirmed it was her, and the doors closed. Then it began its passageway down.

Once the doors opened, she stepped out into a whole different environment. There was stainless steel here and bulletproof glass there. It all led up to a big room with a chair in the middle. Lyla sat down in the chair, said a command, and the entire thing booted up.

_Welcome, Lyla_, it greeted her.

"Hello again, anything new?" Lyla responded, reclining in the chair.

_Yes, there seems to be a slight disturbance near the power plant. One of the workers 'accidentally' flipped a switch which short-circuited the whole thing. In but a few minutes, the entire region will be in a massive blackout._

"I see…got the codes?"

_All entered into your ring._

"Thanks! Then I'll be off."

_Good luck._

"Not like I'll need it," Lyla muttered to herself.

Soon enough she was at the power plant. She morphed to her normal stage when she came to a password-locked tightly sealed door. She took off the ring on her right ring finger and pressed a little button. It had a silver band, which became a hand that was holding a ruby. The ruby started displaying a red-tinted screen on which was the password **4263**. She entered it in and the doors opened. She pressed the side of the ring again, and it seemed regular

She slid into the shadows again and continued her journey likewise until she got to the main operating room. Before she went in, she became human and activated her ring once again and it displayed a map, this time. It showed her the next room and where the switch was that had gone unnoticed. She closed the ring and slithered in as a shadow. It was full of employees, but she was able to slide by them easily. When she got to the switch, she creeped into the cracks and found the circuit that the switch triggered. She allowed but a hand to come out of the shadows to retrigger the switch. That should do the job.

She slithered back out, but before she got to the main door she stopped in her path. For standing there, staring straight at her shadow was the boy from lunch! She felt his eyes melt into her, as if they were revealing all of her secrets. They were so…strange, unique. They were Brown on the outside, then they fade to green. There was a thin layer of light blue on the , they were beautiful, yet frightening at the same time.

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This is one of my stories I've started working on. I've got a few more chapters, and if enough people review and read, I'll continue writing and updating! :) PLEASE review!


	2. Chapter 2

As Michael gazed into the shadows, his heart skipped a beat. There was something there .He searched for any signs of life but found nothing. Yet he remained in the same spot, unmoving. If there was something there, he couldn't let is escape. It had seen him—not that he was doing anything bad.

In fact, he was doing the exact opposite. He had come to stop the power outage. This might be the person—or thing—that had switched it, and he wasn't taking any chances.

Suddenly he noticed something moving in the shadows. No it WAS the shadows.

The shadows were moving.

Michael looked up and all around. There was nothing moving so as to cause the shadow.

Suddenly, the shadow shrunk rapidly until it was a thin line. He followed it with his eyes as it tried to sneak away, heading for the door.

"Stop!" he shouted at it. It caught itself, surprised. Obviously he was the first to notice it. Then a liquid voice poured out.

"Who might you be and how might you come to have such excellent eyes?"

"Who—what are you?" he replied with a question. That voice, it reminded him of someone. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"What do I look like? I'm a shadow!" the voice lost its calming touch and transformed into a fierce snarl.

And then it clicked. Like a combination turning to the perfect number, unlocking your prize. And this time, his prize was knowledge. He knew who that voice belonged to.

It was the girl from lunch! The only person who ever had the courage to yell at him. And here she was, yelling at him again. Besides, how could he ever forget that voice?

Gears turned in Michael's head, rapid as a tornado. "Of _course_ you're a shadow. But that's not all. You're also a girl. A 17-year old girl"

There was a gasp from the shadow.

"That's right. Now you'd better not run off, or I'll blab your secret to the whole school. I can be quite a chatterbox, when I need to."

"What do you speak of?" the voice said, returning to its mesmerizing tone. "I am nothing more than what you see. Now if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be. I need nothing of you, and you cannot keep me here. And so, my crazy friend, I bid you farewell." With an inflection on the 'farewell', the shadow started zooming towards the door like a thread being pulled along by some invisible hand. Michael had to stop it, and fast.

"Wait!" he shouted. The shadow hesitated. "You do need something from me. A secret. Knowledge."

"And what might that be?" the voice had returned to its icy state.

Michael took a deep breath then focused all his thought on just outside the front doors. There were the two potted plants to the sides of the glass doors and the bronze sign that lie flat against the off-white walls. Inscribed on it were the words Chicago Power Plant. _You can depend on us._ He imagined being right in front glass doors so she could peer through and see him…standing there.

One moment he was there, the next moment he wasn't.

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Ooh! Cliffy! I know this was short, but I'm still waiting for more REVIEWS and I'm fixing some stuff up! Thanks bunches!


	3. Chapter 3

Lyla's breath caught as she beheld the magnificent sight. Right before her very own eyes, he vanished. She turned around and saw him outside the doors, standing there. Now she knew what he meant; the secret that she needed to know. There was someone else out there like her. A sudden craving burst from within her; a thirst for knowledge.

She slid under the double doors and beside him. She watched as his eyes followed her—she would have to get used to that.

"Now I see what you mean," she said.

"Yes, and now, will you please stay for a while and promise not to run off?"

The shadow breathed in, held it, and then said, "No."

"What?! Aren't you curious??"

"Yes, but I have a better idea than to discuss our secrets in front of a power plant where someone has been at work to make sure there is no power tonight."

"Too true…do you have any ideas where we may 'discuss'?"

"Well, how about our school? Meet me on the steps in front."

"I'll see you when you get there"

That was all that was spoken before the shadow zipped off and the boy got to work creating a mental image.

But a few seconds and many miles later, the two teenagers began their conversation.

Michael started off, "Since I know who you are already, why don't you show me your human form?"

"Soon. But first, I need to know a little information.

"What now?"

"First off, what is your name?"

"Michael Abel."

"That's nice; it's got a sort of catchy ring to it…eh, not really."

"I know. Now what about you?"

"At school, you may call me Lyla. Lyla Soring."

"Are you joking me? Do you realize that the meaning of that name is 'Night Beauty'?"

"Really? That's very interesting…"

"All right, now will you please allow me to look into your eyes and read your expression? Your being almost impossible to see is quite unnerving."

No sooner had Michael spoken those words then Lyla began her transformation.

Michael stared, gaping, at the sight before him. The shadow rose up, and then expanded to fit the shape of Lyla. There he caught his first true glimpse at her.

She had deep mahogany hair, with a touch of maroon. It went below than her shoulders, and it was wavy. It seemed as if it belonged to a model. Her eyes had a dark core fading out to a deep blue, making it seem as if it were connected to the pupil. Her lips were a bright pink.

She was an average height, and she was pretty slender. She wore loose, silky, black pants with a white shirt. Over it she wore a light white jacket. She had on black sandals.

Michael was speechless; he wondered how she wasn't loved by everybody.

"Liking your first look?" Lyla's words brought him back to the present.

"Just—wow. It doesn't seem to…fit you."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll answer your question with a question of my own. Why do you choose to sit in the corner?"

"Well, first, I don't talk much. Second, I tend to freak people out in bright sunlight. Think about it. The sun and shadows don't really mix."

"Hm…you'll have to show me that sometime. You're making me curious."

"Whoever said you'd be around 'sometime'?"

Michael's eyes widened, and then narrowed.

"I'm just kidding!" and with that, Lyla let out a laugh that sounded like an alto and a soprano mixing together in perfect harmony. Michael just sighed and rolled his eyes, but a smiled played at his lips.

"So, what were _you_ doing at the power plant?"

"Well, I was the one who stopped a power outage."

"That's what I was there for! But then I got there and it was fine."

"Yeah, so then I was leaving and…"

"I saw you somehow."

"Which reminds me; how _did_ you see me?"

"I don't know…I think it's something with my eyes."

"Have you looked in a mirror lately?" Lyla muttered under her breath. Michael continued.

"You see, if I focus on something for too long, or too hard, then suddenly I find myself standing there. I just have to visualize what it will look like when I arrive there."

"Well maybe your eyes are special, so when you 'visualize' places, you go there."

"Perhaps…"

"You know, your eyes are pretty special. Have you seen them?"

"Well, not really…I just know that they look different and tend to freak people out."

"So that would explain the lunchroom! But next time you pass a mirror, look at it. Seriously, you'll be surprised at what you see."

"Okay. Speaking of school: what about our relationship?"

She released a quick gasp.

"Our public relationship, I mean."

"Oh, of course! Well, what do you mean by that?"

"Like do we want anyone to know we even know each other?"

"Oh, well, it might ruin my reputation if I have a friend, and I'm not sure I would even want to know you."

Michael's eyebrows furled.

"I'm just kidding! Gosh, what's up with you, kid?"

"It's a long story."

"I've got time."

"Well, _I_ don't. My—mother will be worried if I'm not back soon."

Lyla glared at him. "I see through your little lie. But I'll let it pass—for now."

"So where will we meet, then? Since we can't be seen together at school…"

"Picture this: a cozy white house with a brick porch. Short, green grass with a garden below the porch. It's one story with a basement. The number on it is 1764. And finally, it's not what it seems."

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Sorry, guys. I've been waiting for my beta to get back to me, but I haven't heard from her in a while. So, I decided to just continue on and post the next chapter. Tell me what you think of it and I'll post the next chapter!


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